Collapsible chair



Aug. 30, 1955 G. M. JENNINGS 2,716,441

COLLAPSIBLE CHAIR Filed Jan. 16, 1950 666410 JENNINGS,

INVENTOR.

BY wn m United States Patent COLLAPSIBLE CHAIR Gerald M. Jennings, LosAngeles, Calif.

Application January 16, 1950, Serial No. 138,844

3 Claims. (Cl. 155-140) This invention relates to improvements incollapsible chairs, and has been particularly designed for use incollapsible wheel chairs but may be employed on other types ofcollapsible chairs as well.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a collapsible chairwherein the width or distance between the arm rests may be increasedwithout increasing the spacing of the side frames of the chair when inextended position and without increasing the spacing of the wheels ofthe chair if the chair is so equipped.

Heretofore, collapsible wheel chairs have been provided consisting oftwo opposed side frames collapsibly connected together by an X-brace.There are many considerations which require that the spacing of the sideframes when the chair is in extended or unfolded condition remain acertain distance, but it is desirable in many instances that the armrests be spaced somewhat wider than their spacing in the conventionalchair so that the chair may be used by large persons.

More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide animproved chair wherein the side frames provide legs, the tops of whichextend outwardly and upwardly at an angle to the lower portions of thelegs and then extend rearwardly to provide arm rests that are rigidlysecured to the outer sides of the rear legs of the wheel chair, and toprovide a novel construction for mounting the slides on the seat bars ofthe X-brace so that they may follow the angular legs in the collapse ofthe chair. In this manner, as the arm rests are inclined outwardly andupwardly with relation to the planes of the side frames, an additionalwidth or spacing can be secured. However, the smooth operation of theX-brace in collapsing and extending the chair is at all times retained.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will be made manifestin the following detailed description and specifically pointed out inthe appended claims,

reference is had to the accompanying drawing for an illustrativeembodiment of the invention, wherein:

Figure l is a view in side elevation of a collapsible wheel chairembodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially upon the line 22 uponFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section, parts being broken away takensubstantially upon the line 33 upon Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially upon the line 44 uponFig. 3.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein simi lar referencecharacters designate similar parts throughout, the improved chairconsists of two side frames preferably formed of metal tubing. Each sideframe provides a forward leg on the bottom of which a caster wheel 11may be mounted and a rear leg 12 on which a large or drive wheel 13 maybe mounted. If desired, the positions of the drive wheel and casterwheels may be reversed. That is, the drive wheel may be mounted on thefront leg 10 and the caster wheel mounted at the bottom of the rear leg12.

2,7 16,441 Patented Aug. 30,1955

The rear legs 12 provide vertically extending portions from a distanceslightly below the level of the seat when the chair is in extendedposition to a point approximately even with the arm rests 14. These armrests are provided by extending the tubing forming the front leg 10upwardly and outwardly from a point slightly below the level of the seatwhen the chair is in extended position as indicated at 15 and thenbending the tubing rearwardly and brazing it or otherwise securing it tothe outer sides of the rear legs 12. Thus, as viewed in Fig. 2, thelower portions of the front legs 10 are vertical and are in the samelongitudinally extending planes with the rear legs 12 of the sideframes. The upper portions of the front legs 10 are bent at an anglethereto as indicated at 15 and these portions, together with the armrests are in upwardly and outwardly inclined planes that are slightlyinclined to the vertical. The two side frames are collapsibly connectedtogether by an X-brace, the members of which are indicated at 16 and 17.The lower ends of these members have longitudinally extending tubes 18rigid therewith which fit between portions of the side frames and arepivotally connected thereto. Any suitable pivotal connection forpivotally connecting the tubes 18 to the side frames may be employed.

The members 16 and 17 of the X-brace are pivotally connected to eachother at approximately their centers by a pivot bolt 19 and each memberat its top has rigid therewith a longitudinally extending seat bar ortube 20 to which a flexible seat 21 may be secured. At the rear end ofeach seat bar a crotched slide 22 is rotatably mounted on the seat barand has its crotch slidably engaging the vertical portion of one of therear legs 12 so that as the side frames are forced towards each otherthe X-brace in collapsing will have the seat bars 20 guided verticallyby reason of the sliding engagement afforded by the slides between therear ends of the seat bars and the rear legs 12.

The angular relationship, however, of the front legs 10 with relation tothe rear legs 12 presents a somewhat different problem in guiding theforward ends of the seat bars during the collapse of the seat. To guidethe forward ends of the seat bars and still have them slidably engagethe front legs 10, arms 23 are brazed or otherwise secured to the undersides of the seat bars adjacent their forward ends. These arms carryforwardly extending pivot pins 24 on which crotched slides 25 arerotatably mounted. These slides have their crotches slidably engagingthe front legs 10. With this arrangement, during the collapse of thechair the member 17 of the X- brace will swing in a clockwise manner asviewed in Fig. 2, about the lower end of the side frame to which it isconnected by its tube 18. As the seat bar 20 on the member 17 swingsupwardly its slide 22 merely pivots on the end of the seat bar infollowing the vertical portions of the rear legs 12. The seat bar,however, is slightly rotated during this swinging movement and in sodoing, swings the arm 23 outwardly so that the slide 25 thereon mayfollow the upwardly and outwardly inclined portion 15 on the front legof the opposed side frame. In this manner, although the upper portionsof the front legs of the side frames are bent outwardly the ends of theseat bars will be slidably guided at each end by the legs of the sideframes so that the two side frames will be brought together smoothly andmaintained in parallel relationship. Conversely, on extending the chairthe reverse rotation of the seat bars occasioned by the extending of theX-brace will cause the arms 23 to slowly swing downwardly from theirlateral positions and thus gradually shift the slides 25 in the mannerrequired in follow- 26 may connect the front and rear legs on the outersides thereof adjacent the level of the seat when the chair is inextended position. The upper portions of the rear legs are connectedtogether by a flexible back rest as indicated at 27 and above the armrests 24 the rear legs may be inclined upwardly and rearwar'dly'asindicated at 28 and equipped with handles 29.

' It will be appreciated that with the improved construction of wheelchair that the spacing of the side frames may be retained at theconventional distance and that likewise the spacing of the wheels canalso be retained at the conventional distance. This spacing is governedor limited by the seat 21 becoming taut as the X-brace unfolds. At thesame time although the spacing of the side frames is retained at theconventional distance, the distance between the arm rests 14 isconsiderably increased. Although the front legs are angular in form dueto the outward inclination of the portions 15 of the front legs by theapplication of the arm 23 to the seat bars and the rotating of theslides 25 about axes spaced from the axes of the seat bars, a properguiding of the forward ends of the seat bars on the angular front legsduring the collapse and extension of the chair is permissible.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims, wherein I claim:

1. A collapsible chair comprising a pair of side frames each having afront leg and a rear leg, at least a portion of one leg of each sideframe being angularly related to the other portion of said leg of thatframe, X-brace members pivotally connected to the side frames adjacentthe lower ends thereof and pivotally connected to each other, seat barsat the upper ends of the X-brace members, and slides rotatably mountedupon each seat bar and slidably engaging the legs of the side frames,the slides on each seat bar being rotatable about spaced but parallelaxes.

2. A collapsible chair comprising a pair of side frames eachhaving'afront leg and a rear leg, the upper portions of the front legsbeing bent outwardly, X-brace members pivotally connected to the sideframes adjacent the lower ends thereof and pivotally connected to eachother, seat bars at the upper ends of the X-brace members, slidesrotatably mounted upon the rear ends of the seat bars slidably engagingthe rear legs of the side frames, offset arms on the forward ends of theseat bars, and slides rotatably mounted upon the offset arms on theforward ends of the seat bars slidably engaging the front legs of theside frames, the forward slides being rotatable about axes which arespaced and parallel to the axes of rotation of the rear slides.

3. A collapsible chair comprising a pair of side frames each having afront leg and a rear leg, the upper portions of the front legs beingbent outwardly, X-brace members pivotally connected to the side framesadjacent the lower ends thereof and pivotally connected to each other,seat bars at the upper ends of the X-brace members, slides rotatablymounted upon the rear ends of the seat bars slidably engaging the rearlegs of the side frames, offset arms on the forward ends of the seatbars, said ofiset arms being rigidly secured to the forward ends of theseat bars and extending downwardly therefrom when the chair is inexpanded position, and slides rotatably mounted upon the offset arms onthe forward ends of the seat bars slidably engaging the front legs, theslides at the forward and rear ends of the seat bars being rotatableabout spaced parallel axes.

likeferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,354,949 Ducavich Aug. 1, 1944 2,379,566 Duke July 3, 1945 2.486.015Everest et al Oct. 25. 1949

